NSGEU president defends costly absenteeism
Posted Sep 11, 2014 05:24:17 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The president of the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union fired back at critics saying government workers are abusing sick days.
Nova Scotia’s public service commissioner reported Wednesday that overtime and sick days cost the province’s taxpayers $38 million in the last fiscal year. Laura Lee Langley also told the legislature’s public accounts committee that $12 million was paid in overtime in the 2013-14 fiscal year, with sick days ringing up at another $26 million.
NSGEU president Joan Jessome spoke to the Sheldon MacLeod Show Thursday to defend government workers. She said, considering the type of work, the amount of sick days is reasonable.
“When people are working under those conditions, your physical and mental health are always at risk,” she said. “I’m not surprised to see that people are missing time. Considering the working conditions, it’s not something to be alarmed about.”
Critics like Kevin Lacey of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation disagree.
Lacey told the Rick Howe Show Thursday morning that the government needs to deal with this. The numbers bother him, but he’s also worried by the effect absenteeism could have on government services.
“We now have all these public servants on each given day who are not showing up to work, and affecting our ability to deliver these public services,” he said.
Jessome said the system is not being abused.
“Management has a right to manage, and if that is happening, there’s provisions for a manager to be able to investigate it, and try to assist the worker about why that’s happening.”
Lacey said he fails to see how there could not be abuse going on, when he says one in 10 government employees won’t show up on any given day.
